Foreign Minister Ciller, representing the the new pro-Islamic
government led by the Refah (Welfare) Party of Necmettin Erbakan,
will set forth today to ease the fears of foreign countries about
Turkey's future.

Ciller will first of all meet with foreign ambassadors today, and
then begin initiatives to clarify the position with countries
with close ties to Turkey. One country that will benefit from the
new programme will be Israel: Foreign Ministry officials say that
mutual benefits coming from agreements will not be influenced.
/Milliyet-Cumhuriyet/

Ankara has made it plain that the real issue between Turkey and
Syria is not the question of water distribution, but rather,
Syrian support for terrorism.

Speaking to foreign journalists during his usual weekly press
meeting, Foreign Ministry spokesman Omer Akbel said that Ankara
was ready to cooperate with Syria to solve the water problem at
the technical level "at any time." Akbel stressed however, that
the real problem was the lack of security between the two
countries stemming from Syria's continued and open support of
terrorism. /Milliyet-Cumhuriyet/

Ankara welcomed the outcome of the meeting of Balkan foreign
ministers held in the Bulgarian capital Sofia last weekend.
Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesman Omer Akbel told journalists
yesterday that the ending of conflicts heralded a new era for the
region. "We hope that full cooperation and good neighbourly
relations will now prevail in the Balkans" he said. "We are happy
to contribute to this process".

Akbel added that in the past Turkey had supported these meetings
but circumstances had prevented their being held for the past six
years. Previous meetings were held in 1988 in Belgrade, and in
1990 in Tirana. Akbel expressed particular support for the final
communique's emphasis on the continuing fight against terrorism.
/Milliyet/

Both Turks and Greeks expressed a wish for better relations at
the Balkan countries meeting in Sofia last weekend. Turkish
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Omer Akbel told the weekly press
conference for foreign media that Foreign Ministry Undersecretary
Onur Oymen and Greek Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos had met
and both sides had said that they wanted relations to improve.

Akbel said: "Oymen reiterated the position of the Turkish
government on the bilateral disputes we have, and emphasized our
willingness to start a peaceful dialogue". Akbel added however
that no date had been set for a further meeting of the two
foreign ministers, as such a meeting would require a government
decision. /Milliyet/

Italian Foreign Minister Lambero Dini said that the EU will be
concentrating on solving the Turco-Greek disputes. Dini, speaking
at a press conference evaluating Italy's term presidency of EU,
said that because of the Greek veto the EU could not go ahead
with the MEDA project for Mediterranean countries and this was
damaging to the EU and the countries concerned.

Dini pointed out that some had proposed that the International
Court of Justice be brought in to help solve the problems between
Greece and Turkey but now it would be necessary to learn the
ideas of the new Turkish government on the subject. /All papers/

The communication satellite Turksat-1C will be launched from
French Guiana tonight. The satellite will be capable of serving a
wider area than previous satellites due to its high technical
qualities. The satellite has two coverage areas; Turkey-West and
Turkey-Central Asia, and will support a total of 16 channels.

The launch of Turksat-1C, which was built to replace Turksat-1A
which was lost after a defect in its number two engine, can be
watched live from Turksat Main Ground Control Centre.
Transportation Minister Omer Barutcu will watch the launch of the
satellite at Golbasi. /Hurriyet/

Benjamin Netanyahu, new Israeli Prime Minister, has attacked
Syria for harbouring terrorist groups. "We will make great
efforts to encourage the international community to oppose this
Syrian policy" Netanyahu said in a June 26 interview with the
Yediot Aharonot newspaper. Under the headline "We will mobilize
the world against Syrian terrorism", Netanyahu called Syria a
centre of terrorism against Turkey and Jordan.

In later interview with the Jerusalem Post on June 28, the leader
of the right-wing Likud party denied that he was proposing a
policy of containment. Rather, he said: "We are simply not going
to play by Syrian rules" which he defined as "lashing out with
terrorism 360 degrees...against Turkey and against Jordan and
increasingly against us". In the Post interview he warned Syria
that a political price would be exacted unless Damascus took
action. /All papers/

Britain's envoy on the Cyprus issue, Sir David Hannay, started a
fresh round of consultations on the island yesterday, his second
visit in five weeks. Hannay, who is on the island until Thursday,
will have meetings with leading figures in the Greek and Turkish
Cypriot communities. Speaking after a two-hour meeting with Greek
Cypriot leader Glafkos Klerides, Hannay insisted on keeping the
contents of his discussion private.

Hannay was expected to travel to the Turkish Republic of Northern
Cyprus (TRNC) last night for talks with TRNC President Rauf
Denktas. /All papers/

Twenty-four militants of the PKK terrorist organization were
killed by security forces in the rural areas of Tunceli, Hakkari,
Diyarbakir, Batman and Elazig. Five militants surrendered to the
security forces in Bingol, Diyarbakir, Sirnak and Tunceli. In
total, 94 militants were caught and arrested during operations
aimed to prevent the activities of the separatists in settlement
areas. In a statement released by the Emergency Rule Region
Governorship, it was said that the separatists will not be given
the chance to disturb the people of the region and that security
operations will continue. /Cumhuriyet/

Turkish troops are participating for the first time in joint
military exercises in a Warsaw Pact country. The joint manoeuvres
are being held in Belene, Bulgaria by troops from seven countries
including Turkey, Bulgaria, the US, Greece, Romania, Moldavia and
Malta. The exercises, called "Joint Determination '96" and
scheduled to end on July 12, were organized within the framework
of "The Partnership Plan for Peace" by NATO's Southern Europe
Commander, General Layton Smith. The aim of the exercises is to
promote military collaboration and consensus among NATO countries
and potential NATO members.

Military teams worked on rescue and recovery missions for natural
disasters such as floods and earthquakes. The Turkish forces were
praised for their good performance in the exercise. /All papers/

Turkish automotive output rose five percent in June to 30,949
units from a year ago, the Association of Turkish Automotive
Industry (OSD) said. Total motor vehicle output rose 16 % to
163,966 units in the first half of 1996, it said. Car production,
leading the way with 19,988 units in June, was up five percent to
110,637 units in the first six months, the OSD said. Bus
production showed the highest increase with 216 % in the first
half year, followed by a 62 % rise in minibus and a 61 % rise in
truck output.

The OSD said six months car sales rose eight percent from the
same 1995 period. The share of imported cars in the domestic
market soared to 19.6 % in the first six months from seven
percent in the first half of 1995. The OSD said car imports from
the EU made up 60 % of the total imports in the first six months,
after Turkey's customs pact with the EU went into effect in
January. /All papers/

Turkey's senior trade officials yesterday voiced caution on
possible business deals Turkish companies might obtain from Iraq
as part of the oil-for-food deal between the UN and the Baghdad
administration. "It would be wrong to expect miracles from this
first contact" Foreign Trade Undersecretary Nejat Eren said in
reference to the visit of a Turkish trade mission. A Turkish
delegation, containing several state economists and private
company representatives were in Amman yesterday en route to
Baghdad, to hold trade talks with the Iraqi administration.

Eren also said that besides the representatives from private
sector, officials from the Energy Ministry, the state pipeline
company Botas, oil refiner Tupras, and oil producer TPAO would
spend efforts to develop natural gas and oil projects. Eren noted
that Eximbank and the Turkish Central Bank would also contribute
to develop banking activities between the two countries. /Sabah/

[14] "TURKEY WILL REMAIN LOYAL TO ALL INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS SIGNED"

National Defence Minister Turhan Tayan said that the new
coalition government, like all previous Turkish governments,
would remain loyal to all international agreements signed by
Turkey. "Our government is aware of the fact that these
agreements are a necessity for Turkey," Tayan noted in a meeting
with NATO Military Committee Chairman General Klaus Naumann.
/Cumhurriyet/

In an initiative to ease the situation with Russia, a delegation
yesterday went to Moscow to talk about Cyprus developments węth
Russian officials. Ankara has for some time been uneasy about
Russian attitudes concerning Cyprus, and Turkish Foreign Ministry
officials hope that the visit of the delegation will lead to an
improvement in relations.

Ankara is concerned that Russia so obviously favours the Greek
side, and seems disposed towards using the Cyprus issue against
the interests of Turkey. The delegation wants to show the
Russians just what is involved and ease the tension through
constructive dialogue. /Milliyet/

Turkish Airlines (THY) and Swissair have come to an agreement
about cooperating on weekend flights. Flight schedules have been
adjusted for Saturdays and Sundays and representatives said
yesterday that passengers will benefit considerably from the
agreement. /Cumhuriyet/

After a free trade agreement with Israel, Turkey is preparing to
sign similar agreements with some Central European countries.
Discussions with Romanian, Hungarian and Czech officials are
going on, and meetings with Polish officials will start today.
/Cumhuriyet/

The 23rd International Nasrettin Hoca Festival has ended, and
awards have been distributed to the winners of the festival
competitions. The Nasrettin Hoca Great Prize was presented to
Edip Tasnadi from Hungary and Omar Santana from Spain won the
Best Cartoon Prize. The festival has been held for 37 years, but
only 23 years ago was it organized at an international level.
/Milliyet/

During a recent meeting with Greek Foreign Ministry officials,
George Brown, Undersecretary at the US Embassy in Athens,
expressed US anxiety over the increasing tension in Cyprus. In a
note presented to the Greek side, the US representative warned
that the presence of Greek soldiers in Cyprus and the flights of
Greek military planes over Northern Cypriot airspace could easily
escalate and result in a hot conflict. Brown harshly criticized
the Greek-Greek Cypriot joint defence doctrine. He noted that
flights of Greek fighter jets in Northern Cypriot airspace had
forced the Turkish side to undertake new security measures, and
asked Greece end its hazardous activities. /Milliyet/